Robot Wars Merchandise
Robot Wars Merchandise was released as the show gained popularity following its debut series in 1998. A variety of merchandise was released, including video/DVD releases, books, video games and toys based on the competitors and House Robots, among others. Toys Pullbacks There was a series of pullbacks modeled on the more famous competitors and the house robots. Most of them (particularly the earlier ones) were packaged with accessories featured in The Trial events of the first four wars e.g. barrels, goalposts and ramps. They all featured moving weapons that could be operated by flicking switches, pushing buttons, through winding-up motions or similar methods. A few had removable panels (like the rear panel of Chaos 2), or interchangeable weapons (such as Matilda's chainsaw/flywheel, or Sir Killalot, whose lance could be replaced by a hammer). The models released were: *Chaos 2 *Dantomkia *Firestorm 3 *Hypno-Disc *Panic Attack *Pussycat *Razer *Stinger *Tornado *Wheely Big Cheese *X-Terminator 2 *Dead Metal *Growler *Matilda *Mr. Psycho *Refbot *Sergeant Bash *Shunt *Sir Killalot Pitstop Toys In addition to the pullback toys, a few pitstop toys were also released, allowing the user to construct the following robots using the parts and tools provided, which featured a pullback motor and working weapons: *Hypno-Disc *Panic Attack *Matilda Minibots A series of smaller, cheaper pullback toys were created, however most of these did not have moving weapons like the Pullbacks and Pitstop toys. *Chaos 2 *Dominator 2 *Firestorm *Gemini *Hypno-Disc *Mega Morg *Panic Attack *Plunderbird 5 *Pussycat *Razer *Suicidal Tendencies *Tornado *Wheely Big Cheese *Wild Thing *X-Terminator 2 *Dead Metal *Matilda *Refbot *Sergeant Bash *Shunt *Sir Killalot Radio Controlled Toys There were also radio controlled versions of some of the robots. They were much larger than the pullback and pitstop toys, but much smaller than their real life counterparts. The ones that were released had working weapons (modified for safety purposes to avoid the potential for serious injury). *Matilda *Sir Killalot *Shunt *Sergeant Bash *Growler *Tornado Videos UK releases The first Robot Wars video that could be obtained was American Robot Wars 1996 in 1998 and could be purchased upon joining the Robot Wars Club. It featured battles taken from the 1996 competition of the original US Robot Wars. In addition a short preview video was sent to new members of the Robot Wars Club as part of their membership pack. The first video to be released for retail was the VHS title The First Great War in March 1999, which featured a review of the Heats and Grand Final in the first series, plus some behind-the-scenes segments and a guide to building a robot. However, it skipped the fourth heat entirely. A History of the Third Wars was not made available for retail purchase, instead only being available by post to those who paid the membership fee to join the Robot Wars Club. It was a 18 minute review showing clips from each of the 16 heats, 2 semi-finals and grand final of Series 3. Jonathan Pearce provided the commentary throughout, however only the grand final clips featured his original commentary on the battles. Next was the First World Championship, filmed following the Third Wars, which was released on VHS in the year 2000. This was before Razer's victory in the event was televised. It was also released on DVD in 2005. It was slightly longer than a standard Series 3 episode, at roughly around 70 minutes in length, since it featured 16 robots (rather than eight) in a straight knockout competition across 15 battles, fighting for the coveted prize of Robot Wars World Champion. Eleven nations were represented. Later that same year in 2000 the Special Edition Double Pack was released. This set included both the First World Championship and American Robot Wars 1996 videos, the latter of which had been previously only available to Robot Wars Club members. Following that, the Ultimate Warrior Collection series was released in late July 2002, the first Robot Wars titles to be released on DVD, as well as being released on video. There were four of them in total, with three being dedicated to some of the most successful competitors Chaos 2, Hypno-Disc and Razer. Featured were interviews with the roboteers, an almost complete set of the battles the teams fought in their time in Robot Wars (prior to the Sixth Wars), and a detailed look into how the machines and their weapons were operated. The final Ultimate Warrior Collection disc was dedicated to the House Robots, showcasing each of the original five house robots' best and worst moments. It also featured interviews with the original House Robot builders, plus a preview of Mr. Psycho and Growler, introduced to Robot Wars after the videos were filmed. The last set of original releases came in 2004 when vouchers for two DVDs featuring one complete episode each of the Seventh Wars were included with different newspapers: Heat B was included with an issue of The Sun and Heat P was included with an issue of the Daily Express. Both these releases served to promote Fox Kids' acquisition of the rights to broadcast episodes of the Seventh Wars. Two further episodes would be released in 2005 with issues of Jetix Magazine. That same year also saw the release of the First World Championship on DVD. In the wake of the return of the series a new DVD and Blu-ray was released in August 2016, including all six episodes from the new series. The list of UK Robot Wars video releases is as follows: Scandinavian releases In 2003 the company PAN Vision obtained the rights to issue Robot Wars videos on VHS and DVD in the Scandinavian region. The DVDs while they had the original English soundtracks also came with Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles. The most notable release is perhaps that of The First Great War, which was never released on DVD in the UK. It is uncertain whether the DVDs featured the extras of the original UK releases, though The First Great War video did leave out the Robot Builder's Guide that was included in the original UK VHS release. Strangely, they were all billed as part of "The Ultimate Warrior Collection" even though not all of them were treated as such in the UK. Video Games The Robot Wars franchise extended into the video game market. The Game Boy Color game Robot Wars: Metal Mayhem came out in time for Christmas 2000, and was based around the third television series. It had a bird's-eye view during gameplay and very simplistic graphics (highly limited by the hardware). All of the weapons appeared to do the same amount of damage. Surprisingly, the game worked similarly to console beat-em-up games, whereby every battle was actually played best two out of three, instead of a single fight. Side events such as The Gauntlet and Sumo Basho were included. The first home console release was Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction. This game allowed the player to earn credits to compete in global championships across eight hugely different arenas. The hazards and number of corner patrol zones varies from level to level. The player starts with a machine entitled "My First Bot", and can either sell it to buy or build a new robot, or upgrade (and rename) the game's starter machine. Various single- and two-player multiplayer modes are available, making Arenas of Destruction the first Robot Wars video game to feature the latter. This game provided the debut of Terrorhurtz, since the videogame was released before Heat L of the Fifth Wars was shown on television. Nine other real-life competitors in their Series 4 iterations were unlockable in the game, plus a fictional robot named Thor, which was created based on a fan competition. However it had no relation to the competitor which competed between Series 6 and 9. Robot Wars: Advanced Destruction for the Game Boy Advance had four game modes, and along with Arenas of Destruction, was the first to have a multiplayer mode, allowing up to four people to play at any one time. A mode of note is the Mayhem battle mode, where the player faces every robot in the game, making for a 20-way melee. This is the largest number of robots in an arena at any time in any Robot Wars game, and is more than any televised battle ever had. Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction followed largely the same game mechanics of its predecessor, but actually included competitors from Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors. Several of the arenas in the previous game returned, although new ones such as a Mars Base were thrown in. The console and PC editions were rather different from the Game Boy Advance version, however they were all based around UK Series 5 and Extreme Warriors: Season 2. The Game Boy Advance version did not include the Refbot despite its setting. The full list of Robot Wars video games is as follows: Books and Magazines Several Robot Wars books were released during the show's original run, with another based on the rebooted series due to be released later in 2017. This list of published books is as follows: In addition, two separate series of Robot Wars Magazine were published on a monthly basis. The first followed Series 4, with sneak-peeks at Series 5 in later issues and also included various comic strips. It ran for 20 issues. The second followed Series 6 and Extreme 2, and featured various behind-the-scenes write-ups and team interviews. However, this version was not as successful, being cancelled after only seven issues. Board Game A board game was released based around the fourth series. Battle Cards Four packs of Top Trumps, known as Battle Cards were made based on individual competitor robots and the house robots. In each pack, 32 cards were included, 30 were of competitors, the other 2 were of house robots. The packs were labelled Pack 1, Pack 2 etc. The first three packs were based on different robots from Series 4, with the five house robots of the time and the Refbot being included. The fourth pack was based on robots from Series 6, with Mr. Psycho and Growler being the house robots included. No robot that featured in any of the first three packs also featured in the fourth pack. CD/Music Video There was also a CD single and music video released by Polydor Records. Miscellaneous As well as the above merchandise, Robot Wars also expanded into various other areas of merchandise. t-shirts.jpg.JPG|T-shirts Growlershirt.jpg|Growler T-shirt Houserobotshir.jpg|House Robot T-shirt T-shirt_2.jpg|A alternate version of the House Robot T-shirt Psychoshirt.jpg|Mr Psycho T-shirt T-shirt_1.jpg|Logo T-shirt ShuntSweatshirt.jpg|Shunt T-shirt sirktech-shirt.jpg|Sir Killalot T-shirt SirKshirt.jpg|Red Sir Killalot T-shirt BlueShirt.jpg|Blue House Robot Shirt pyjama.jpg|Matilda pyjama top HouseBotJumper.jpg|House Robot jumper RWbathrobe.jpg|Bath robe RWHoodie.jpg|Hoodie RWTrousers.jpg|Trousers RWTshirt.jpg|Sir Killalot T-Shirt RWsocks.jpg|Socks SirKshirt5-6yrs.jpg|Sir Killalot T-Shirt WaterproofJacket.jpg|Waterproof jacket SgtBashShirt.jpg|Sergeant Bash T-Shirt Clothes *Baseball cap *Growler T-shirt *House Robot T-shirt (2 varieties) *Matilda Pyjamas *Mr. Psycho T-shirt *Robot Wars Logo T-shirt *Sergeant Bash T-shirt *Shunt Sweatshirt *Sir Killalot T-shirts *Sir Killalot Pyjamas *Logo *House Robot jumper *Bath robe *Hoodie *Trousers *Socks *Waterproof jacket lunchbox and flask.jpg.JPG|Lunchbox and flask Lunchbox.jpg|Lunchbox Matilda Beer Glass.jpg|Matilda beer Glass in box MatildaGlass.jpg|Matilda glass Shunt Beer Glass.jpg|Shunt beer glass Shunt mug.JPG|Shunt mug Killalot beer glass.JPG|Sir Killalot beer glass RWLunchBox.jpg|Sir Killalot lunch box BashGlass2000.jpg|Sgt. Bash Glass BashGlass.jpg|Sergeant Bash glass in box Killalot drink thingy.JPG|Sir Killalot topper tumbler Bowl Plate Mug.jpg|Sir Killalot bowl and Sergeant Bash plate and mug Plate_cup_and_bowl.jpg|The Sergeant Bash Plate and mug, with a Sir Killalot bowl in its packaging DMglass.jpg|Dead Metal glass DMglass2.jpg|Dead Metal glass (other side) DMglassBox.jpg|Dead Metal glass in box DMlunchbox.jpg|Dead Metal lunch box ShuntBeerGlass.jpg|Shunt beer glass ShuntBeerGlassback.jpg|Shunt beer glass (other side) SirKglass.jpg|Sir Killalot glass in box RWbeerglass.jpg|Sir Killalot beer glass SirKmug.jpg|Sir Killalot mug Eating/Drinking Supplies * Lunchbox and flask * Matilda beer Glass * Sergeant Bash Glass * Sergeant Bash mug * Sergeant Bash plate * Shunt beer Glass * Shunt mug * Sir Killalot beer glass * Sir Killalot bowl * Sir Killalot lunch box * Sir Killalot topper tumbler * Dead Metal mug * Dead Metal glass * Dead Metal lunch box * Shunt beer glass * Sir Killalot glass * Sir Killalot beer glass * Sir Killalot mug Folder.JPG|A4 ring binder folder Frontofnotepad.jpg|Exercise book (front) Backofnotepad.jpg|Exercise book (back) rucksack.JPG|Rucksack RW_Large_Pencil_Case.png|Large pencil case Small pencil case.jpg|Small pencil case PencilCaseInside.jpg|The inside of the pencil case Pencil Case.jpg|The stencils and compass that came with the pencil case RWPencilCases.jpg|Another pencil case TinPencilCase.jpg|Tin Pencil Case School Supplies * A4 ring binder folder * Exercise book * Rucksack * Large Pencil case * Small pencil case with rulers, rubbers, stencils, and protractors * Small pencil case * Tin pencil case crash helmet.jpg.JPG|Crash helmet Skateboard Matilda.jpg|Matilda skateboard skateboard.jpg.JPG|Sergeant Bash skateboard, with the knee pads SirKskateboard.jpg|Sir Killalot skateboard Sports Equipment * Crash helmet * Matilda skateboard * Sergeant Bash skateboard * Sir Killalot skateboard RWcalendar.jpg|2002 Calendar RWcalendarback.jpg|2002 Calendar (Rear) 500 piece jigsaw puzzle.jpg|500 piece jigsaw puzzle jigsaw.jpg|Another 500 piece jigsaw RWclock.jpg|Clock duvetandpillow.jpg|Duvet PillowCase.jpg|Pillowcase (that came with the duvet) GiftWrap.jpg|Gift wrap and gift tags Official Sticker Collection.jpg|Official Sticker Collection RWStickers.jpg|The inside of the Sticker Album, with stickers RWStickers2.jpg|Another page from the inside of the sticker album RWStickerPackets.jpg|Packets of Robot Wars stickers, unopened trophy.jpg|Replica Fourth Wars Trophy trophy2.jpg|Replica First World Championship trophy RWToolKitBox.jpg|The Roboteer Tool Kit in its box RWToolKit.jpg|The Roboteer Tool Kit Shunt card.JPG|Shunt birthday card Killalot card.JPG|Sir Killalot birthday card RWsunglasses.jpg|Sir Killalot sunglasses Tattoos.jpg|Tattoos (one missing) Robot Wars Live program.jpg|A Robot Wars live program. OldRWbrochure.jpg|A Robot Wars brochure from 1999 lampunlit.jpg|Wall lamp washing kit.jpg.JPG|Washing kit Wastebasket.jpg|Wastepaper basket Watch.jpg|Watch Rw posters website ad.JPG|Posters Phone_case.jpg|Sir Killalot phone case for the Nokia 3310 Roboteer_3D_viewer.jpg|Roboteer 3D Viewer RWCurtainsinbag.jpg|Curtains (in bag) RWcoasters.jpg|Coasters FathersDayCard.jpg|Fathers Day card FathersDayCard2.jpg|Father's Day Card (other design) RWKeychain.jpg|Keyring BastBirthdayCard.jpg RWPostcard.jpg|Postcard wallet1.gif|Wallet RWpinbadge.jpg|Pin badge Other * 2002 Calendar * 52 piece Roboteer Tool Kit * 500 piece jigsaw puzzles * Clock * Duvet and pillow cover * Gift wrap and tags * Growler keyring * Official Sticker Collection and Album * Replica Trophies * Roboteer Tool Kit * Shunt birthday card * Sir Killalot birthday card * Sir Killalot sunglasses * Wall lamp * Washing kit * Wastepaper basket * Watch * Tattoos * Sir Killalot Phone case Nokia 3310 * Roboteer 3D Viewer Robot Wars Shop A merchandise stall would also be present during the live filming of Robot Wars. These sold products relevant to the filming session, such as foam hands, and programmes. At Series 8, the stall sold black shirts and jumpers displaying the new Robot Wars logo, black foam hands, while yellow foam hands were given away to audience members, and on later days of filming, water bottles and miniature torches originally intended for use by the crew only. In Series 9, new shirt designs and notebooks were added to the selection. All of these items bar the water bottles are available to purchase on the new online shop. Modern Merchandise The Robot Wars brand is currently being licensed for new merchandising purposeshttp://licensingsource.net/licensing-link-to-launch-robot-wars-into-cp/, with the first item announced being the book Robot Wars: Build Your Own Robot. External Links *The Official Robot Wars Online Shop (Archived) * The 2016 Robot Wars Official Merchandise Online Shop References Category:Merchandise